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Museo Atlantico: Spainâ€™s Newest Underwater Museum

jason declaires taylor, Rebreathers, Scuba Careers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, underwater sculpture, UW Photography, Wrecks / Scuba Admin

All works and photographs courtesy of Jason deClaires Taylor Jason deCaires Taylor installs the first phase of sculptures in Museo Atlantico, the first underwater contemporary art museum in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. Situated in clear blue waters off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain. The unique, permanent installation is constructed 14m beneath the […]

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World’s Best Destinations for Diving with Macro Critters

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Why do the Top 100 Readers Choice Awards, now in their 23rd year, still matter to divers? Because these are your picks, based on thousands of votes from the most experienced dive travelers on the planet. Why do they matter to us? Because every month you hear from our editors on what we think matters in the world of dive travel. For the January/February issue of Scuba Diving we get to listen to you, and we’re taking notes.

Here, we proudly present the No. 1 ranking destinations in the Best Macro Diving category of the awards. The full list of winning destinations is below.

Terrence Ross/Tom Stack & Associates

Bonaire

Best Macro Diving in the Caribbean and Atlantic

Think you have to book a flight to Indo to see exotic nudis, seahorses and frogfish by the handful? That ticket might be considerably less expensive than you think, for North American divers, if you aim for the island of Bonaire instead. Decades of institutionalized protection and loving management of its pristine reefs have helped to preserve an environment where nearly 400 species have been documented, most of it the small stuff beloved by underwater photographers. Looking to capture a particular subject in a specific situation? Bonaire also offers the ultimate freedom to plan your own dives 24/7, instead of waiting for the dive boat or competing with other photographers looking for the same stuff you are. Many of its resorts’ house reefs are literally alive with critters, so you don’t even have to crank up your rental truck — just fall off the dock and start shooting. — Mary Frances Emmons

Best Overall Diving in the Caribbean and Atlantic

1. Bonaire

2. Cayman Islands

3. Bay Islands

4. Mexico

5. Curacao

Terrence Ross/Tom Stack and Associates

Bonaire

Macro finds include teardrop craps in this Caribbean Island.

Jennifer Penner

Bonaire

Tiny squat shrimp are often found by sharp-eyed divers in Bonaire.

Wayne MacWilliams

Bonaire

Macro photographers love Bonaire’s critters like this spotted eel.

Barry Brown

Bonaire

These crazy critters are not glow sticks, but bearded fireworms shot under blue light at night.

TimsImagesUnderwater/Alamy

Bonaire

Gobies find shelter in colorful tube sponges.

Eric Madeja

Indonesia

Best Macro Diving in the Indian and Pacific Oceans

Sure, Lembeh Strait is the world’s epicenter of macro div- ing, with enough crazy critters — hirsute frogfish, microscopic seahorses, kaleidoscopic nudibranchs and more — to fill a logbook, but don’t overlook the enchanted islands of Komodo, Bali and Wakatobi. With their eagle-eyed guides, you might not need a magnifying glass to find it all, but you will need more logbooks. — David Espinosa

Best Macro Diving in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

Jeff Rotman/NPL/Minden Pictures

British Columbia

Best Macro Diving in North America

Decorated warbonnets, grunt sculpins and candystripe shrimp are just a few highlights to spotlight while shooting in Canada’s westernmost province. Browning Passage, a legendary site near Port Hardy, hides so many macro treasures the challenge is not finding cool subjects but deciding which ones to skip and save for the next tank. So many pictures to make, not enough bottom time. — Brandon Cole

Best Macro Diving in North America

1. British Columbia

2. Washington

3. California

4. Florida

5. North Carolina

David Hall

British Columbia

Nudibranchs are a favorite of macro photographers; this Hermissenda is praying on stinging hydroids.

How We Got the Numbers Thousands of Scuba Diving subscribers and online users rated their experiences at dive destinations in a variety of categories on a scale from one to five. Final scores are an average of the numerical scores awarded. A minimum number of responses was required for a destination to be included in these ratings.

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Great White Sharks: Fact vs. Fiction

Rebreathers, Scuba_News, standards, Teach First Aid/CPR, Tec, Tec Diving, Technology, TecRec, TecRec IT Crossover, UW Photography, Wrecks / Scuba Admin

Great white sharks, which are often thought of as terrifying killing machines, are particularly charismatic. There is a great deal more to these magnificent animals than meets the eye.

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Winners of the 2015 Ocean Art Contest

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Photography is a powerful thing. With the click of a button, time stops. With a single image, a fleeting moment lasts a lifetime. And for five years Underwater Photography Guide has honored the underwater photographers who have mastered this art with the prestigious Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition. Announced in January, the winners of this year’s contests were selected out of thousands of entries from across the globe by a panel of judges including Tony Wu, Martin Edge, and Marty Snyderman, accompanied by Underwater Photography Guide publisher Scott Gietler.

Below is a taste of the incredible images that stood out from the competition, and you can see the full list of winners at tinyurl.com/oceanart2015.

We congratulate all of the winning photographers, and encourage all underwater shooters to enter the ring for the 2016 competition!

For more, go to uwphotographyguide.com

Matthew Sullivan

Wood Turtle

This photo of the endangered wood turtle took first place in the Mirrorless Wide-Angle category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Montane Creek, Pennsylvania

Camera: Sony A6000, Nauticam housing, Zeiss 12mm lens, dual Sea & Sea YS-01 strobes

pufferfish school underwater photography in new zealand

Irene Middleton

Panic Puffer School

This photo of a school of starry toado pufferfish took first place in the Novice DSLR category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Maroro Bay, Poor Knights Island Marine Reserve, Northland, New Zealand

Camera: Nikon D300, Sealux housing, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens, Ikelite D125 strobe and DS50 on slave

Walter Bassi

Dad and her Eggs

This photo of a seahorse retrieving his mate’s eggs won first place in the Mirrorless Behavior category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Capo Noli, Liguria Sea, Italy

Camera: Olympus PEN E-PL1, Olympus Ept01 housing, Olympus 60mm macro, dual Sea & Sea YS-110 alpha strobe

So Yat Wai

Skeleton Shrimp

This skeleton shrimp photo grabbed first place in the Supermacro category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia

Camera: Canon 5D Mark III, Sea & Sea housing, Canon 100mm macro lens, SMC, dual Inon z240 strobes, Light & Motion Photo 800 focus light

Greg LeCoeur

Pilot Whales

This photo of a pod of pilot whales took first place in the Portrait category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Nice, FRance

Camera: Nikon D7000, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens

model underwater painting axinella sponge photography

Francesco Pacienza

The Painter of the Sea

This photo of a model named Francesco “painting” an Axinella sponge won first place in the Pool/Conceptual category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Santa Maria al Bagno, Salento, Apulia, Italy

Camera: Nikon D7100, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens, Easydive LEO3 housing, dual Sea & Sea D1 strobes, Nikonos SB105 with bank diffuser

nudibranch under sun in spain underwater photography

Roland Bach

Sunny Day

This Felimare picta photo nabbed first place in the Nudibranchs category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Punta d’en Siulet, Minorca/ Spain

Camera: Nikon D300, 10.5mm fisheye lens, 1.4x TC, Sealux housing, Nikon SB900 strobe

Francesco Visintin

The Satellite

This barrel jellyfish picture took first place in the Wide-Angle category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Italy

Camera: Nikon D7000, Tokina 10-17mm lens, Isotta housing, dual Ikelite SS200 strobes

Settings: f/18, 1/320, ISO 100

fluorescent cerianthus anemone green underwater photography

Alessandro Raho

The Fluorescent Cerianthus

This glowing anemone took first place in the Compact Macro category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Noli, Italy

Camera: Canon G16, Isotta housing, dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes, yellow filter on

houndfish swallows brassy chub underwater predator photography

Jack Berthomier

Fast strike of a Tylosorus crocodilus on a juvenile kyphosus vaigiensis

This photo of a houndfish swallowing a brassy chub received first place in the Compact Marine Life Behavior category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Ouemo Bay, Noumea, New Caledonia

Camera: Sony RX100, Nauticam housing, internal flash only

Settings: f/7.1, 1/1000, ISO 200

mating frogfish pair spawn underwater photography

Steven Kovacs

Egg Release

This photo of a frogfish pair about to spawn took first place in the Marine Life Behavior category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Blue Heron Bridge, Lake Worth Lagoon, Riviera Beach, Florida

Camera: Nikon D7000, Nikon 105mm lens, Ikelite housing, dual Ikelite DS160 strobes

Settings: f/18, 1/250

filefish in soft coral underwater camouflage photography

Simon Chiu

Shyness

This filefish photo placed first in the Mirrorless Macro category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Mactan, Cebu, Philippines

Camera: Panasonic GF1, Panasonic 45mm lens, dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 strobes, FIT(10) and FIT(5) diopters

Brian Christiansen

Cetaceclipse

This photo of a dolphin from below took first place in the Compact Wide Angle category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Locations: Deshaies, Guadeloupe

Camera: Olympus TG-3

blackwater dive cusk eel underwater photography

Jeff Milisen

Feeling Exposed

This larval cusk eel photo was taken on a blackwater dive and took Best of Show and first place in the Macro category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Note: This type of eel might never have been photographed or seen by any diver before!

Location: Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Camera: Canon T1i, Canon 60mm lens, Ikelite housing, dual Ikelite DS-51 substrobes

strobe anemone norway underwater coldwater photography

Lill Haugen

Anemone Light

This North Sea anemone photo took first place in the Cold Water category of the 2015 Ocean Art Photo Competition. See the full story behind the shot — and full list of winning photos — at Underwater Photography Guide’s website.

Location: Oslo Fjord, Norway

Camera: Nikon D300, Nikon 10.5mm fisheye lens, Ikelite DS160 strobe, Triggerfish remote slave sensor connected to an INON Z240 strobe

Winners of the 2015 Ocean Art Contest Read More »

Visit PADI at Our World Underwater

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Join PADI Americas from February 26th-28th at the 46th annual Our World Underwater show in Rosemont, Illinois, USA. This year’s show features informative seminars and workshops, contests—and a weekend film festival featuring legendary PADI Divers such as Jill Heinerth – all in addition to an exhibition floor with the latest dive […]

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